Of san bernardino



(No Model.)

J. E. LOUTHIAN.

HOSE GOUPLING. No. 475,406. Patented May 24; 1892.

f 27 Attorney n s mum 00,, mom-mm, wlsumn-mu c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN EMMETT LOUTHIAN, OF ETIVVANDA, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-FIFTHS TO ROBERT YORK, OF SAN BERNARDINQCALIFORNIA.

HOSE-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 475,406, dated May 24:, 1892. Application filed August 29, 1891. Serial No. 404,126. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: with the hose upon which they are to be BeitknownthatLJOHNEMMETTLOUTHIAN, used. Each half of the coupling comprises a citizen of the United States, residing at Etifour parts: the head 1, which is connected Wanda, in the county of San Bernardino and with the end of the hose; the sleeve 2, which State of California, have invented certain new fits around the head and which connects with 5 and useful Improvements in Hose-Couplings; the sleeve of the opposite half and effects the and I do declare the following to be a full, coupling; the bail 3, which is pivotally conclear, and exact description of the invention, nected with the sleeve and engages with one such as will enable others skilled in the art end of the head and forces the head against to which it appertains to make and use the the opposite head to make a tight joint besame, reference being had to the accompanytween them, and a washer t at the contacting marked thereon, which form a part of this movement of the head by the bail. If deing drawings, and to the figures of reference end of the head, which is compressed by the specification. sired, a lock-bolt or key 5 may be inserted 15 My invention relates to hose-couplings, and between the head and sleeve to prevent accii has for its objects to provide a coupling that dental uncoupling. The head 1 may be coni can be quickly and easily coupled and withnected or secured to the end of a section of out the use of separate tools or wrenches, 850., hose in any desired manner-as, forinstance,

and can be locked against accidentahuncoupby means of a crimped or expansion ring 6,

2o ling, if desired; thathas asmooth exterior to which is only shown in dotted lines, and prevent its catching upon objects as the hose which is inserted Within the end of the hose is being drawn in either direction,and either after it has been inserted in the head and reend of any section may be coupled to either leased, which will cause the hose to be forced end of any other section, and that is strong outwardly against the interior of the head 2 5 and durable and can be cheaply made; and with sufficient force to prevent the head from it consists in the construction and combinabeing pulled off the hose. tion of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully To assist the ring in holding the head and set forth. hose together, the interior of the head is pref- In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is erably provided with one or more interior ,0 a side elevation of my improved coupling. flanges 7, which are located at or near the Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rear end of the head and which will form a same. Fig. 3 shows detail views of one half shoulder against which the hose is held by of the coupling. Fig. 4 is a detail of the lockthe ring. Near the front end of the head is anbolt or key; and Fig. 5 is a broken plan view otherinterior flange 8, against the rear side of of the coupling, on a reduced scale, showing whichtheend of thehoseabuts, and againstthe the key partly pushed in to lock the parts tofrontsideof which thewasher i abuts, and may gether. be permanently secured by means of cement The coupling consists of two halves, which to prevent its becoming lost or misplaced. In

are exact duplicates of each other, one half front of the fiange 8 the head is formed into 40 being attached to each end of each section of a rim, which surrounds the washer a portion 0 hose, so that when the ends of the sections are of its length or thickness and prevents the brought together the two halves will fit into excessive outward expansion of the washer each other and effect the coupling. In the when the two heads are forced together in description of my coupling I will therefore coupling. The rims also assist in holding the 5 only describe the parts comprising one half, interlocking portion of the coupling when 5 although the same numerals of reference will brought together. The exterior of the head indicate corresponding parts in each of the is cylindrical and perfectly smooth, except halves in the drawings. The coupling may near its front end, where it is provided with be made out of any suitable material and an offset or shoulder 9. The sleeve 2 is cy- 50 may be of any suitable size to correspond lindrical and fits loosely upon the head, so too that it may be easily rotated upon it in effecting a coupling. Its exterior is perfectly smooth, so that it will not catch or engage with anyobstruction as the hose isbeingdrawn along, and its interior is also smooth, except a shoulder 10, which engages with the shoul-- der 9 of the head and limits the forward movement of the head. The front end of the sleeve is provided with two or more books 11, which engage with corresponding hooks upon the opposite half of the coupling and hold the two sections of hose together. The hooks are equally spaced around the end of the, sleeve with the spaces between them just wide enough to permit of the ready passage of the hooks of the opposite half in connecting or disconnecting them. The points of the hooks are preferably slightly inclined to the rear, so thatafter they have been made to engage with the hooks of the opposite half, which is done by passing the hooks into or through the spaces-between the opposite 'hooks'and giving the sleeves a partial rotation, the contactingfaces will engage with each other and the longitudinal strain upon the sections-of'hose will prevent the disengagementof the hooks. The frontends of the hooks are preferably made rounding, so that they will readily enter the recesses of the oppositehalf, which are also made rounding, and by making the hooks about double the length of the distance from the shoulder 9 to the end of the head they will completely surround the rim of the head and reinforce it, except at the spaces exposed by the rotation of the sleevesin eifeetingthe coupling. The shoulder 10 is located at the baseof the hooks, which thus gives additional thickness to the hooks and enables the points to be'made very short, which will require but a slight rotation and will yet be very strong. The opposite end of the sleeve is provided Withtwo rearwardly-projecting ears 12 12, lo-' cated upon diametrically-opposite sides of the sleeve and each provided with a hole or perforation 13. These ears extend back beyond the rear end of the head such a distance thatwhen the bail 3 is placed within the holes 13 a cam-surface 14 upon the end of the bail will engage with the end of the head, and by swinging the bail upon its pivots 15 the head will be moved through the sleeve. Thebail. is preferably inserted into the cars from the interior, sothat thehose willbearagainst-the inner surface of the ends of-the bail and will; prevent their accidental removal. The bail is semi-elliptical in shape, so that when it is standing at right angles to the axis ofithei hose the middleport-ion of itw'illbe at aislight distance from the hose. This will permit of quite a swing of the bail from its contact with the hose when in :its outward position, as

shown indotted lines in the drawings, to its: closed positionagainst the end of the sleeve! when the coupling is efiected. This swing'of the bail permits of the cam or eccentric 141 beingmade great enough to force the heads? of the opposite sections together with consid- .-at theirear-of one of the beyond the endsof the erable power, which compresses the washers and makes a tight joint between them. In forming the ears the end of the sleeve is cut away upon each side to correspond with the curve of the bail, so that when the bail is turned down against theend of the sleeve in looking the heads together the exterior surface of the bail will be even with the exterior of the sleeve and present a smooth surface that will slip over obstructions and will also prevent the liability of the bail being turned away from the sleeve and opening the joint between two sections. Notches 16 may be made in the end of the sleeve, by means of which access may be had to the rear of the bail and it may be forced outward when the hose is uncoupled. To prevent .the pressure against the cam or eccentricthrowingthebail outward after it has beenturned down against the sleeve, the apex of it may be cut off flat, as at 17, which will rest against the end of the head and have a tendency to force the bail against the end of the sleeve. Forithe purpose of givinga good broad fiat surface for the working of the cam I prefer to locate the flange 7 at the rear end of the head and to cut it 06 even with the end of-the headand parallel with the axis of thepivots of the bail.

In using the coupling asabove described the head is first inserted into the sleevefrom the rear'until its shoulder near the front end engages with the-shoulder upon the interior of the sleeve. The bailiis then inserted by placing one ofits pivots in the hole in one of the eals'and then springing the opposite end of the bail inward until its pivot will pass into the inner side of the opposite ear. The bail is then released, when it will springoutward and cause the pivot to enter theholein the ear and secure it inplace. Although I have shown the bail provided witha shoulder 18, which will fit against the end of the sleeve when it is turned down and will make a smoother surface, it is evident that the shoulder could be dispensed withand the end of the bail could be so that thebail could be turned in either direction to forcethe heads together. After the parts :have been thus assembled and the washer, which maybe of leather, rubber, or other compressible material, is insertedimthe front end of the head the end ot' a section'of hose may be inserted from the rear and secured by the ring 6, as described.

\Vhen it is desired to use the :lock-bolt or 'key 5, one or bothof thesleeves of a coupling is provided with a=notch 19npon its interior hooksandthe key is each end projecting sleeve at t-hat point. Each end ofthe key is provided with alug or projection 20, which stands substantially even with theexterior of the sleeve and prevents placed in the slot with IIO formed into a double cam,

width that after the coupling has been effected by interlocking the hooks by rotating the sleeves upon the heads the key is slipped forward and engages with the rear faces of two hooks and prevents their backward rotation until the key has been withdrawn. The inner surfaces of the hooks may be made slightly rounding, so as to more readily slip over the washer and end of the head of the opposite half of the coupling, and instead of the shoulder 10 being located at the base of the hooks it may be made farther to the rear and the shoulder 9 upon the head be made to correspond. This will prevent the liability of sand and dirt getting between them and interfering with their operation. Before interlocking the hooks the bails are turned outward as far as they will go, which will let the head slip back so as not to interfere with the fastening of the hooks, after which one or both of the bails may be turned back against the ends of the sleeves. If the washers are new or of sufficient width or thickness, it will only be necessary to turn down one of the bails; but after they have been compressed in constant use both bails may be turned down, which will double the movement of the heads toward each other.

By using the hooks and cams in a coupling the longitudinal strain upon the coupling is borne by the hooks, which can be made very strong and substantial, and the tightening of the joint is effected by the cam, which may be varied to suit the circumstances, and by dispensing with screw-threads acheaper coupling can be made and one that can be operated much more quickly than where it is required to screw one part into or upon another.

WVhen it is desired to attach a section to a fire-hydrant nozzle or other kind of a suitable coupling, a union-section may be used.

The hooks of the coupling are all made to point in one direction,so that the coupling is effected by turning the sleeves in the direction of turning a screw, and by making the interior of the washer and of the ring within the end of the hose in the head of the same or a trifle larger diameter than the interior of the hose the capacity of the hose is not affected by the coupling.

- Having thus described my invention, I

claim- 1. A hose'eoupling consisting of two halves,

- each being the duplicate of the other, comcircling the head and having a smooth exterior, and a bail pivotally secured to the sleeve and adapted to engage with the head and move it longitudinally of the sleeve independently of the connection with or movement of the other half of the coupling, substantially as described.

2. In a hose-coupling, a head provided with a washer and adapted to be connected with the end of a section of hose, a sleeve encircling the head and having hooks at one end and ears at the other end,and a bail pivotally secured to the ears and provided with cams for engaging with the head, substantially as described.

3. In a hose-coupling, a head provided with a washer and adapted to be connected with the end of a section of hose and provided with an exterior shoulder, a sleeve encircling the head and provided with an interior shoulder adapted to engage with the shoulder of the head, said sleeve being also provided with hooks at one end and with ears at the other end, a semi-elliptical bail pivotally secured within the ears and having its ends provided with cams for engaging with the end of the head, substantially as described.

4:. In a hose-coupling, a head provided with a forwardly-projecting rim and an interior flange near its front end, a washer within the rim and secured to the flange, a sleeve encircling the head, having hooks projecting beyond the front of the rim and of the washer, the inner surface and the ends of which are rounding, a bail pivotally secured to the rear end of the sleeve and adapted to be turned down even with the surface of the sleeve, each end of the bail being provided with a cam, substantially as described.

5. In a hose-coupling, a head adapted to be connected with the end of a section of hose, a sleeve encircling the head, one end of which is provided with forwardly-projecting hooks and the opposite end is provided with cars, a bail pivotally secured to the ears, provided with cams for engaging with the end of the head, and a key adapted to he slipped longitudinally of the coupling and to engage with the hooks thereof and prevent the unclasping of the hooks, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN EMMETT LOUTHIAN.

. Witnesses:

J. O. BOYD, GEO. A. FERGUSON. 

